Eleanor McEvoy

When Eleanor sat down to write her new album,I’d Rather Go Blonde, Ireland was in the grips of severe winter weather, a devastating economic crisis, and the continuing abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. The songs that emerged came straight from Eleanor’s own heart but their message is a reflection of the heart of all Ireland. The 6th song on the album, Shibboleth, is especially relevant in light of the news of the bailout of the Irish government this week. Eleanor described Shibboleth in a recent article in Irish Music Magazine. “What I did with that was a trick on what the old traditional Irish songs used to do where you weren’t allowed to talk about the conflict, or England, so they used to talk about Ireland as woman. I’m doing the same in Shibboleth. I’m singing as if it’s a person: ‘Mo ghra, mo chraoi, mo cuisle/How hard it is to see/ A mhuirin, they have brought you to your knees.’ But I’m actually singing about Ireland.

'Shibboleth'
(E. McEvoy)
Your beauty in the spotlight
It was something to behold
A final hope of something good
A pool of solid gold
Mo ghra, mo chroi, mo chuisle
How hard it is to see
A mhuirnin, they have brought you to your knees
You Riverdanced around the world
A shining shibboleth
You dared to take the breath away
Of everyone you met
Mo ghra, mo chroi, mo chuisle
How hard it is to see
A mhuirnin, they have brought you to your knees
The rains that you’re so famous for
I’ve only realised
Are just the tears you fail to keep
Cascading from your eyes
Mo ghra, mo chroi, mo chuisle
How hard it is to see
A mhuirnin, they have brought you to your knees
Mo ghra, mo chroi, mo chuisle
How hard it is to see
A mhuirnin, they have brought you to your knees